Firewords Podcast

Sleep Warbler, by Simon Lowe, is Dan’s Issue 11 pick. Here, he explains how it explores the theme of Power in a disturbing, yet entertaining, way.Grab a copy of Firewords Issue 11 at firewords.co.uk/eleven

Jen picks a memorable piece from Issue 11. Little Jacques and the Bad Man, by Audrey Kalman, has stayed with her since she first read it during the submission round. Here, she discusses why.Grab a copy of Firewords Issue 11 at firewords.co.uk/eleven

We take a look at writing that could easily have been included in Firewords but which, for many reasons outwith the writer’s control, we have had to reject.

Linked to our previous article, Know What An Editor Wants Without Stalking Them, this episode will help you to target your work most effectively - and save you time in the process.

Here, we take a look at continuing problems with the misuse of fragments. Check out the accompanying article at firewords.co.uk/fragments

An introduction to the new season of our podcasts, which will all come in short, five minute chunks.

While we're taking a break from recording new podcast episodes, here's a story from Issue 10….Curiosity, COAuthor: Beth LincolnRead by: Daniel EhrenworthArtwork by: Berat PekmezciFrom Firewords Issue 10: firewords.co.uk/ten

Writing is only a tiny part of the battle – editing is where the true magic happens, but it can be hard to maintain the motivation to keep refining once the first draft is done. In today’s episode we discuss this process and why it can be such a challenge. We also share our way of editing in the hopes that some of the tips may help you.

It's been a little while since we had a new episode of the podcast because we've been busy getting Issue 10 finished. To bridge the gap between episodes we thought it'd be fun to share the audiobook recording of a story from a previous issue. We'll be back with a real episode soon, so sit back and enjoy the story...The Wasp and the WillowAuthor: Carolyne TopdjianRead by: Cory MillerArtwork by: Wenting LiFrom Firewords Issue 8: firewords.co.uk/eight

One of the biggest struggles for writers these days is actually finding the time to write. We're all leading busier lives with more distractions than ever, so how is it even possible to find the right balance? In this episode, we tackle this topic in detail and discuss why writing guilt can be one of the toughest things to deal with.

This episode is a little different because we answer some listener questions. We received some great #AskAnEditor questions and had fun trying our best to answer them. What do we wish submitters would stop doing? Would we recommend starting your own literary magazine? What themes do we receive too often in submissions? How can writers improve their confidence? And why do we ask that awkward question in our submission form? Find out the answer to all these and more!

It's submission time at Firewords (until 29th March!), which seems like a good time to share some tips for submitting to us and other publications. Jen shares her 3-step submission strategy that ensures she sends her writing out regularly.

We explore the idea of perspectives in writing and how they can make or break a story. We also have some excellent examples for you from Firewords 9!

The first podcast of 2018 focuses on poetry and how we believe you can get a true emotional reaction from your reader. We don’t take an analytical look at poetic techniques, but rather step back to consider how writing should be approached in the first place. This is an area in which there are no clear cut answers. The main thing to take away is, prepare to fail. (What a lighthearted way to start the year!)

In this end-of-year wrap up episode, we look back at what we achieved in 2017 and what we’ve got planned for the future. We also talk about Issue 9 of the magazine, which is about to be released! Finally we discuss the NaNoWriMo challenge that took place in November and talk about how short story writers can benefit from taking part.

Today's episode was inspired by a problem we've noticed in a few submissions. It's also something Jen is struggling with in her own writing: Overwriting. This topic is one we've written about before, but we’re discussing it again as it’s an important one. Do you ever struggle with overwriting? Is less usually more? Share your thoughts and join the discussion.

As we head into another submission round, we thought it would be a good time to discuss them on the podcast, so today's episode is all about those final touches before you hit send. We're back. We're married. And we're excited to be podcasting again. Whether you get accepted or not is largely down to luck and submitting to the right place at the right time, but what can you do to have the best shot of being published? This episode touches on some things you should and shouldn’t do before sending your work out into the big wide world.

We’re taking a break from podcasting for the whole of August and this mini update episode explains why (spoiler: one week until the wedding!) We also touch on a problem that a lot of writers experience – feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes you need to prioritise certain things in your life and you should never beat yourself up for that.

In this week’s podcast, I keep the topic a surprise from Jen and put her on the spot about what’s holding her back from putting her work out there more. Here are some of the reasons we touch on in this episode. Maybe you can relate to some of them? - Perfectionism and never being completely happy with a piece - Fear of rejection - The pressure we put on ourselves - Keeping up the motivation to keep getting back on the horse - Not enough time to write AND put in the work necessary to submit - Knowing where to submit If any of this sounds familiar, you should probably listen to this episode! We’d love to hear your thoughts and, if we missed a reason that’s holding you back, comment and let us know.

Writing can be a very solitary activity and a lot of writers would prefer to keep it that way, but putting yourself out there and spreading the word about your work can be extremely rewarding. Self-promotion is often thought of as a dirty term and something that a lot of writers shy away from. However, it doesn’t always need to be about selling something and can really enrich your writing experience – even if you’ve never been published. In this episode, we look at some of the more rewarding kinds of self-promo for writers and see how building relationships can actually be the best kind of promotion for yourself and your writing.

With Issue 8 fresh off the press, we are excited to be publishing the winners of our visual prompt competition, run in partnership with Bloomsbury and Writers & Artists. Maggie Chiang, illustrator and past-contributor of Firewords, created a wonderful visual which we asked people to base a short story on. The response and results were amazing! To celebrate this, we’ve recorded a podcast that explains the reasons for our choice of winners and also delves into some other pieces which were submitted. We hope to explain here why our decision was not easy, and why we were blown away by both the number of submissions and quality of writing. In fact, the main thing we were surprised about here was the different kinds of submissions received, each one paying full attention to the prompt but interpreting it in different ways. Creativity was in full flow and we enjoyed every minute of the judging process. So take a listen to this week’s podcast and let us know what you think of our winning stories.

In this week’s episode, we discuss different ways that you can use feedback – both from Firewords and other sources – to improve your writing on a continual basis. We also have three suggestions on where you can find this elusive feedback. A lot of people treat writing as a solitary activity, but putting your work out there and listening to what people think of it is so important. We want to encourage feedback from groups and individuals who touch your lives every day. There is a wealth of knowledge all around you and sometimes your best resources are friends and relations so you don’t have to look very far for inspiration. Don’t leave these resources untapped! It’s sometimes difficult to avoid feeling like feedback is actually criticism, but that is why practising a reciprocal, and carefully structured, process of feedback is helpful. This will help get rid of any feelings of judgement or negativity.

Why is writing consistently so damn hard? Sometimes it feels like life is constantly trying to interfere with getting words on the page. In this episode, we outline of our own creative writing routine and show we are normal human beings; we struggle with building writing habits too. We do have some tips and techniques that work for us and they may help you write more consistently as well.

Is it possible to write to a theme effectively AND keep your unique writing voice? Hear some excerpts of writing we’ve published and find out why they work so well. We also discuss the pitfalls of trying to force your writing to fit a theme that doesn’t inspire you.

We take a look at the process of submitting your work to literary magazines. We received almost 900 pieces in our last call for submissions, and have noticed some points that keep cropping up. Some of our tips may help you streamline your process and succeed in getting published. We also answer some listener questions all about overused themes in writing – find out what they are!

In this first episode, we introduce ourselves, the Firewords project and what we have planned for this new creative writing podcast.